Right about now hedgerows, parks, woodlands and gardens across the land are full of frothy white blossom, which is itself buzzing with a multitude of hoverflies and bees. Richly evocative of an English spring, there’s little that’s more eye catching or pleasing to all of the senses than a May Tree in full flower.
A young Hawthorn, or May Tree.
One of the most marvellous and beautiful of our native trees Crataegus mongyna – AKA Hawthorn, Whitethorn, Haegthorn, Quickthorn or May Tree – has an ancient relationship with mankind.
The old Anglo-Saxon name Haegthorn – literally the “Hedge Thorn” – as well as Quickthorn – referring to the value of the plant as a living, impenetrable barrier – shows that it has long been the most valued of hedging and boundary plants. But the Hawthorn has much more to offer than a life as a prickly hedge. These are truly multi-season trees. In good seasons the foliage turns bright red in October.
Hawthorn berries, all a-glow.
Autumn also sees them smothered in tiny bright red berries (the “Haws”). These are packed with antioxidents, vitamins and minerals and are an invaluable pre-winter food source that is harvested by anything and everything that can get to them.
As well as providing great autumn viewing interest to us those berries are a guaranteed bird magnet and they alone make a Hawthorn a near-essential element of any wildlife garden.
Actually much of the plant is edible in one way or another. As well as the fruit that are traditionally turned into jellies and jams the young leaves can be eaten as a salad vegetable, or cooked and added to soups whilst the flowers and flower buds make a pretty and tasty garnish.
Would you like Hawthorn leaves with that, Madam?
Hawthorn wood has long been used for carving, whilst the tough root wood is traditionally used for box making. The trunk wood is also unusually dense and burns at an extremely high heat, so was the wood of choice for smelting iron.
Those individually delicate pure white flowers open from tiny, pink-blushed buds and, after being pollinated, the flowers age back to pale pink before falling in a carpeting confetti shower in early June. Other forms have much deeper pink flowers and these make a pleasing landscape contrast with the white.
Not surprisingly, given it’s long association with mankind and ubiquity in the landscape Hawthorns have many magical and pagan connections, legends and tales associated with them.
Their thorny nature as well as their often somewhat gnarled, Tolkein-esque appearance saw them approached with some trepidation and considered the haunt of faeries, elementals and assorted enchantments.
A pink, double-flowered Hawthorn.
The common name of May Tree comes from the plants role in traditional May Day celebrations, when both people and their houses were dressed with May blossom (“bringing home the May”).
The popular rhyme “Here we go gathering nuts in May” was sung by the young men, gathering not “nuts” (which are around in Autumn rather that Spring) but “knots” of May blossoms for those May Day festivities.
Those celebrations, which are still richly enjoyed across much of the country - including our Devon neck of the woods – are all about welcoming the arrival of spring, new life and new growth.
Folks “wear the green”, by decking themselves in Hawthorn greenery and flowers, whilst the appearance of the early May blossom always had great significance and itself symbolised the beginning of new life and the onset of the growing season.
Snowy white blossom.
Hawthorns are also extremely long lived. The most ancient of all trees in France is a Hawthorn, reputed to be over 1700 years old.
The oldest British specimen, known as “The Hethel Old Thorn”, grows near Norwich and is believed to be around 700 years old, whilst the most legendary is undoubtedly the famous Glastonbury Holy Thorn in the old ruined Abbey.
Possibly even better news is that Hawthorns are ridiculously easy to grow, and failure is pretty much impossible. They will grow in virtually any soil (aside from a perpetually wet one) and will cheerfully inhabit any aspect.
A single flowered pink form.
Here we have them planted everywhere from full sun to deep shade, although they certainly flower better when given a sunny aspect.
In a completely ideal and open situation they can eventually reach as much as 8 metres (25 feet) in height and breadth. Where space is more limited Hawthorns can also be severely pruned to any acceptable size and shape without compromising flowering.
So from a historical, cultural, culinary, wildlife and aesthetic point of view the Hawthorn is one very special native tree. Why not join in an ancient English tradition and find a spot to plant your own May Tree today.
Tags: Bee Attracting Plants, Garden, Gardening, Native Plants, Plants for Wildlife, Spring Flowers, Trees
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